The present invention relates to a medical garment. More specifically, to a drainage reservoir garment for supporting a drainage reservoir assembly including one or more drainage reservoirs. The garment comprises a section of material or fabric, which includes one or more pockets for receiving, supporting and holding one or more drainage reservoirs.
The prior art discloses or suggests a number of garments, harnesses and belts that have been designed to support drainage reservoirs and similar type devices upon a patient""s body. The utilization of support assemblies, such as garments, harnesses and belts, provide the patient with a means for positioning a drainage device in an appropriate location and securing it there.
A supporting assembly for a drainage reservoir is especially necessary in a post surgical period. For a period of time after a surgical procedure is performed on a patient, a drainage reservoir is required to be worn by a patient in order to drain away body fluids from the surgical site. In particular, one end of a drainage tube is positioned in the area of the surgical site while the other end is positioned in fluid communication with a drainage reservoir. Thus, excess fluids generated by the body at the surgical site as a result of the trauma of the surgical procedure are removed from the body.
As previously mentioned, various devices and methods have been used to support a drainage reservoir and are designed to be worn by a patient. For example, patients have used bulky garments, harnesses or single strap belts to support a drainage reservoir. Examples of harnesses or belts are disclosed in Kagan et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,755,698, issued on May 26, 1998, and Kiel, U.S. Pat. No. 5,716,344, issued on Feb. 10, 1998. Each of these inventions provided support assemblies for drainage reservoirs, but was considerably bulky and restrictive to the wearer. Furthermore, the undesirability of these support assemblies becomes compounded when two or more drainage reservoirs are required to be worn by a patient.
An example of a vest assembly is demonstrated in LaBove, U.S. Pat. No. 4,087,864, issued May 9, 1978. The vest disclosed in LaBove is provided for patients undergoing intravenous hyperalimentation treatment. The vest includes pouches to receive bags of hyperalimentation solution, a pocket to receive a pump to transfer the solution to the recipient""s body and a pocket for a power supply for the pump. While the vest assembly disclosed by LaBove includes pockets, the pockets are not designed to accommodate drainage reservoirs or tubes attached to drainage reservoirs. The pockets disclosed in the LaBove patent are located on the outside of the vest are not configured to adequately house a drainage reservoir assembly. Furthermore the vest taught in LaBove is not lightweight and is extremely bulky. Therefore the patient may experience added discomfort while wearing the vest, as well as, may find difficulty in wearing the vest under other clothing.
In Pavelka, U.S. Pat. No. 4,582,508, issued on Apr. 15, 1986, a garment for receiving catheters is described. The garment in Pavelka discloses or suggests a garment that includes straps for holding the garment to a patient""s body and a pocket element within which to store the catheter. However, Pavelka only discloses the retention of the catheter tube and does not disclose the housing of any apparatus for drainage reserve. Furthermore, the utilization of straps in the device disclosed in Pavelka is susceptible to slippage of the garment over the shoulder or around the body of the patient during the course of wearing it. The movement of the garment away from the intended location is a concern with such strapped support assemblies due to their lack of comfort and also potential to disengage the drainage device.
Furthermore, the use of garments, belts and other support assemblies has been shown in the prior art to have additional disadvantages. One disadvantage is that most of these devices are not designed to allow the device to be quickly and conveniently put on or removed by the patient with little movement or discomfort. Another disadvantage is that some of these devices are made of a material such as leather, vinyl or denim. Devices made of such material are inflexible, bulky, and uncomfortable to a patient during use, and less able to withstand washing or multiple washings in a washing machine. Also, many similar devices fail to accommodate the complete drainage reservoir assembly, which includes tubes and reservoirs.
Therefore, a need exists for an apparatus for supporting a drainage reservoir, which is worn by the patient and is easy and convenient to use. What is further needed is an apparatus for supporting a drainage reservoir which is comfortable to wear and still properly retain the drainage reservoir assembly. Moreover, what is needed is an apparatus for receiving, supporting and holding a drainage reservoir assembly at a location adjacent to a patient""s body, which eliminates the risk of injury and pain due to inadvertent movement of the apparatus that dislodges the drainage reservoir. Finally, a support assembly is needed which can accommodate multiple drainage reservoirs at multiple locations on a patient""s body.
The present invention is a garment, which provides a new and improved invention for receiving, holding and supporting a drainage reservoir assembly that is administered to a patient""s body. The garment comprises a front panel, an optional back panel, optional tabs and one or more pockets located on the interior of the front panel and/or back panel.
A desired characteristic of a drainage reservoir support assembly is that such an assembly should adequately secure the drainage reservoir and in doing so also restrict movement of the reservoir on the patient""s body. A problem which exists with many secure support assemblies is that if they do possess the previously mentioned characteristic, they are generally bulky in appearance and are not comfortable to wear. The drainage reservoir garment of the present invention is intended to support a drainage reservoir in a pocket, therefore restricting the reservoirs movement, as well as provide a comfortable garment for the patient to wear.
An embodiment of the drainage reservoir garment of the present invention comprises a front panel, back panel and a pocket flap. The front panel and back panel are adjoined at two areas on a shoulder line. It is noted that the front panel and back panel may comprise multiple sections of fabric joined together or may comprise a single section of fabric folded at the shoulder line. Between the two areas on the shoulder line is an aperture for the head and neck. The pocket flap is an extension of fabric adjacent to the front panel, which is folded under and secured to the interior of the front panel, thereby producing a pocket. The pocket may be further secured to the front panel at various points, thereby producing a number of smaller pockets capable of adequately receiving, supporting and holding more than one drainage reservoir. The garment may also include tabs that are adjoined to either side of the front and back panels. The tabs may include fasteners to secure to each other or may be used as tie strings for securing the front and back panels to each other at the side of the patient""s body. Generally, the garment may be worn by pulling it over the head of the patient, inserting the drainage reservoirs into the pockets and securing the front and back panels together with the tabs. If no back panel exists, the garment can be secured to a patients body by use of tabs around the neck and back of the patient, similar to a bib for a small child.
Therefore, it is one object of the present invention to provide a new and useful assembly for supporting a drainage reservoir assembly, which provides a more secure attachment to the wearer""s body. The additional stability will protect the wearer from injury or discomfort by further restricting the movement of the drainage reservoir.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved garment for supporting a drainage reservoir which is lightweight and not bulky. Also, it is an object of the present invention to provide a garment for supporting a drainage reservoir at a location adjacent to a patient""s body which is more comfortable to a user and may be worn with other clothing.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and useful drainage reservoir garment which can support multiple drainage reservoirs or support a drainage reservoir in multiple positions on a patient""s front and back torso.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a garment for supporting a drainage reservoir assembly, which is easier to put on and remove without causing discomfort to the patient and/or dislodging the drainage reservoir assembly.
It is moreover an object of the present invention to provide a garment for supporting a drainage reservoir assembly, which allows a patient to be more independent, which includes added mobility and less assistance from others.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a garment for supporting a drainage reservoir assembly, which may be worn easily with a patient""s clothing.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a garment for supporting a drainage reservoir assembly, which can be quickly and conveniently put on and removed from a patient""s body with little movement and less discomfort.
Another object is to allow easy access to the drainage site by the patient, medical professionals or others that assist in the care of the drainage site.
The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and the attached drawings.